The Regional Search Committee of the Search for Outstanding Volunteers (RSC-SOV) conducted its initial validation of the 13 nominees for the 2024 SOV on September 10-11, 2024 at NEDA Regional Office 2, Tuguegarao City.

The SOV is the centerpiece activity of the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSA) during the National Volunteer Month, which is observed every December.

As mandated by Republic Act No. 9418 (Volunteer Act of 2007), PNVSA has adopted this strategy to promote volunteerism as a tool for development.

Of the 13 regional nominees, five are under the Adult Category, six for the Youth Category, three for Non-Profit Organization, and one each for Corporate and Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award (VLAA). All nominees have undergone the initial validation process through documentation review by the RSC-SOV members, of which nine were shortlisted for next round of validation.

The RSC-SOV will visit the nine shortlisted nominees, together with three of their beneficiaries for an onsite validation and interview on September 30 and October 1, 2024. The onsite visit aims to validate and further evaluate the nominees’ submitted documentation of their respective volunteerism activities.

The two-day initial validation was attended by the following RSC-SOV members: Engr. Phillip Tamayao of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); Regional Director Plormelinda Olet of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA); Dr. Amir Aquino of the Department of Education (DepEd); Regional Director Angely Mercado of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA); Jocelyn Carag of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); and Assistant Regional Director Ferdinand P. Tumaliuan of NEDA as Chair, and NEDA – PMED as Secretariat.

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